When it comes to football betting, the summer can leave you high and dry. Where can you go for your gridiron fix? The Canadian Football League can fill the void left by the NFL and college football. For those who are thirsty for the NFL or NCAAF, the CFL can give you some great betting options. Who knows, you may find yourself slowly becoming a fan of the CFL’s rules and longer field. The world needs more Alouettes fans. Could you be one of them?

Why Bet on the CFL?

Football bettors often bemoan the fact they can’t wager on their sport of choice after the Super Bowl. But, up in Canada – you know America’s hat – there are CFL odds to check out starting each June. You get a full summer’s worth of football lines to study and exploit. The CFL is a nine-team league with former college football stars and even some former NFLers. Remember Doug Flutie and Ricky Williams? They played in the CFL!

Each week, you have four games to pick from and OddsShark’s CFL Odds page is constantly updated to give you the right betting edge. You can also make CFL futures bets. Who will win the Grey Cup? Which teams will make the playoffs? Will Nickelback play the halftime show and get poutine thrown at them? Hopefully, they don’t play otherwise that’d be a giant waste of poutine.

CFL Betting Info Primer

To help you get your CFL bets in order, here’s some information you’ll need:

The CFL was founded in 1958

There are 9 teams

There are 2 divisions: East and West

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts play in the East

The BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers play in the West

The regular season lasts from mid-June until early November (21 weeks)

Each team plays 18 games with 3 bye weeks (Without 3 byes, the players would probably find themselves injured a lot. Sure, there’s universal health care in Canada but you have to give the players time to recoup.)

6 teams compete in the 3-week divisional playoffs

The Grey Cup is the CFL equivalent of the Super Bowl

American football teams consist of 11 players, CFL teams have 12 players

Canadian football fields are 110x65 yards, unlike American fields which are 100x53 1/3 yards

The CFL has a 3-down limit (the NFL has 4 downs)

There is no fair catch rule in the CFL. No player from the kicking team, except the kicker and any player who was behind him during the kick, can approach within five yards of the ball until the opponent touches it

At the snap, all offensive backfield players with the exception of the quarterback are allowed to be in motion as long as they remain behind the line of scrimmage

In American football the clock continues to run after tackles are made in bounds, but in Canadian football the clock restarts

The defensive line can only block or hold up a receiver if they are within one yard of the line of scrimmage, whereas in the NFL contact can be made up to five yards

CFL rosters are comprised of 46 players (the NFL has 53) and teams can dress up to 44 players (21 have to be Canadians, 20 can be from anywhere else, and 3 quarterbacks)

CFL officials use orange penalty flags instead of the yellow ones used in the NFL

CFL officials announce penalized teams by their city or province whereas NFL officials use general terms like “offense” or “defense”

How to Bet on the CFL

Turning your moderate CFL wagers into major dollars is easier than you think. You have many betting options when it comes to the CFL. We offer odds on each betting option, giving you the tools necessary to make great picks.

1. OVER/UNDER: Often referred to as totals betting, this is the predicted number of combined points oddsmakers think will be scored by both teams. Let’s say a game between the BC Lions and the Ottawa Redblacks is listed at 43.5. You would need the total points to be more than 43 to win your OVER bet. To win your UNDER bet, the total points would need to be 43 or less. Visit our CFL Picks page for more information on totals betting.

2. Moneyline: One of the simplest CFL bets you can make, the moneyline involves picking a winner. Let’s say the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (-150) are facing off against the Montreal Alouettes (+130). Based on those odds, you would assume that the Bombers are going to win. If you made a $100 moneyline wager on Winnipeg, and they won, you’d win $66.67. If you decide to bet $100 on the underdog, in this case the Als, and they triumphed over the Bombers, you’d win $130.

3. Point spread: The point spread is the predicted margin of victory for one team as chosen by oddsmakers. Let’s say the Saskatchewan Roughriders are the favorite at -3.5, and the Toronto Argonauts are the underdog at +3.5. In order for your bet to cover the spread, the Roughriders need to win by 4 or more points, or the Argos need to win outright or lose by 3 points or less. Otherwise, your bet doesn’t cover the spread and you lose.

4. Futures: The great thing about sports betting is that you can make wagers on things that haven’t happened yet. You can make a futures bet on who will win the Grey Cup, who will be named Most Outstanding Player, and which teams will make the playoffs. If the Calgary Stampeders are listed at +150 to win the championship, and you wager $100 now, you could be in line to win $150 if they take the trophy. On the other hand, if the Edmonton Eskimos are at +3000 to win the Grey Cup and you bet $100 on them, you could see yourself $3,000 richer if they manage to pull off a championship win. Visit our CFL Futures page for more details.

5. Props: Prop betting on the CFL is something that many people turn to because it offers endless entertainment. You can place prop wagers on things like how many passing yards and interceptions will a certain quarterback have, and how many rushing yards will the top running back have in their game.

OddsShark Tweets

Canadian Football Betting

Football bettors often bemoan the fact they can’t wager on their sport after the Super Bowl. But up in Canada, there are CFL Odds to check out starting each June – a full summer’s worth of football lines to study and exploit. The CFL is a nine-team league with former NCAA stars and some former NFLers. Each week, you have four games to pick from and a CFL Odds page here at OddsShark.com to watch and research. Toronto is the defending champion and many sportsbooks will offer Grey Cup odds and other CFL future bets to spice up your account.

The handicapping, sports odds information contained on this website is for entertainment purposes only. Please confirm the wagering regulations in your jurisdiction as they vary from state to state, province to province and country to country. Using this information to contravene any law or statute is prohibited. The site is not associated with nor is it endorsed by any professional or collegiate league, association or team. OddsShark does not target an audience under the age of 18. Please visit gambleaware.co.uk or gamcare.org.uk for guidelines on responsible gaming.